Berea House

Pricing - Cover Price

How much you want to charge for your book is your choice, and will depend on the purpose of your work. If you are deliberately using work as a fund-raiser for a popular cause you may be able to put the cover price up. However, if you want to sell through usual channels, it is important that you cover price is realistic.

We therefore suggest that the price printed on you book should be in the following range:

We believe these to be sensible prices, comparable to those you will find in major bookshops or perhaps a little lower. They also give sufficient margin to offer discounts on direct sales and commission to bookshops while still giving a return to the author.

Specialist non-fiction works in niche topics can afford to step outside these prices, provided authors have sufficient recognition in their subject areas to justify this.

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Conventional publishers will price a book based on 9 to 12 times the cost to print a single copy. Remember, though, that they have to support a sales force, advertising, advances and administrative costs that you do not. They also have much lower printing costs because of economy of scale. This means that to apply the same math is not realistic.

A bookshop taking copies of your book to sell will expect between 20 and 35% commission for doing so. This has been allowed for in the above pricing, leaving a small profit margin. Note also that bookshops do not normally pay post and packing charges… this needs to be reflected in commission rates and cover pricing.

Catalogue and Book Club prices often demand discounts of as much as 75%. If you are fortunate enough to be offered this kind of deal, it is unlikely that Berea House would be able to compete, and a more conventional printer will be better if you want to go for more than say 1,000 copies of a work anyway.

Authors often give special prices when selling direct or at personal appearances. A discount of a pound or two can often clinch a sale that might otherwise have been more difficult. Many a punter is on the lookout for a bargain!

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